This invention relates to a method and apparatus for making a dough product including the inverting of the baked dough product prior to further processing. More particularly, this invention relates to the making of essentially hollow dough products with the inverting of the dough products prior to these products being filled.
The present process and apparatus is particularly adapted to producing baked goods whereby after the baking step the baked good needs to be inverted prior to further processing. One particular use for the present method and apparatus is in the production of filled biscuit and cracker products. These types of filled biscuit and cracker products consist of snack items that are produced in various forms and which have essentially hollow centers. The hollow centers are produced through the utilization of specific doughs, through the use of particular processing, or through a combination of these techniques. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,508 it is disclosed that hollow formed biscuit products can be formed which undergo a leavening increase of at least 280. There has also been developed a cracker dough which as a result of the dough composition and subsequent processing will undergo a high level of expansion during baking to thereby create a large internal hollow space. It is this hollow space that is created primarily by the leavening agent during the baking operation that is subsequently filled with a suitable filling utilizing needle injection techniques.
The filling of a hard biscuit or hard cracker using needle injection techniques consists of having a needle pierce the baked hollow form and after having pierced the form inserting therein the desired filling. Generally the filling step is conducted just subsequent to the baking step prior to any substantial cooling of the baked biscuit or cracker. At this point in the processing the biscuit or cracker retains more of its pliability and thus is not as susceptible to cracking as when the biscuit or cracker would be filled after it had been totally cooled. However, the biscuits and crackers can be filled after they have been cooled.
In the filling of these baked forms it is preferred to fill the baked forms from the side that had contacted the oven during the baking operation. One reason is that the opposite side of the baked form will in many instances contain a design which is imprinted onto the upper side of the baked form prior to baking. That is, the design is on the side opposite that which contacted the bottom of the oven during baking. In this way the pin hole that would be formed during the filling of the baked form would not be made in the side of the baked form having the fanciful design. This consequently requires a technique for inverting the baked shape forms immediately after the baking step and just prior to the step of needle injecting the filling into the baked form.
The above noted U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,508 discloses a method for producing hollow hard biscuit forms. These hollow baked forms will in many instances contain on one surface a fanciful design. Although these hollow baked forms can be filled from either side, it is preferred to fill the baked forms from the side not containing the design. This side will be the side that contacted the bottom of the oven during the baking of the hollow formed product. This patent does not address this issue and does not disclose from which side the hollow baked forms are filled, or from which side it would be preferred to fill the hollow baked forms. However, in the present processing it is clearly preferred to fill the hollow forms from what would be termed the bottom side in order not to disfigure the upper surface and any design which it carries.